“Indisputably, CAD-based PLM vendors have thorough knowledge of product design and product development processes. This is especially true with regards to inter-disciplinary system engineering (i.e., managing mechanical, electronic, and software components and requirements). Engineering departments and/or manufacturing operations typically drive the evaluation and selection of the CAD-based PLM solution when these vendors win over other PLM alternatives.”

Given that PLM is a growing industry, particularly in regards to integrating CAD with other data, it is reassuring that companies such as Inforbix continue to assist companies with all their PLM data management solutions, even those that are highly complex or that require significant customization.

Short honk: An good summary of Hewlett Packard Autonomy IDOL 10 appears in the WorldWright blog. You can get the Hewlett Packard version at this link. The angle is the “instant on enterprise.”There is a video and a link to more details. An instant on white paper is also available. It is called “The Instant On Enterprise.”

I am not an expert on open source. In fact, anything with the word “open” in it makes me nervous. After all, I used to work at Halliburton’s Nuclear Utility Services unit. I prefer the word “closed.”

I read “Microsoft Takes Asp.net MVC into the Open with Community Patches and Bug Fixes.” Quite an interesting write up. The main point is that Microsoft is getting some ideas about open source and how free and open software can be used by a fiercely commercial enterprise. I thought, “Hmmm. I wonder if the founders of open source assumed that an outfit like Microsoft would weaponize the open source approach?”

How infiltration works.

For me, the main point of the write up is that Microsoft is weaponizing free and open source software. Quite a good idea, and it takes the IBM Eclipse and Lucene initiatives in an interesting new direction. Compared to IBM’s approach, Microsoft is moving with the low profile of a Navy Seal unit engaging in a crowded mall. Here’s the passage I noted:

ASP.NET MVC, Microsoft’s Web application framework, has been open sourced since its first version, and was switched to Microsoft’s permissive license in 2009. However, there’s a difference between open development and mere open source (as those following Android’s development will be well aware). Previously, the source was available, but its development was Microsoft’s sole concern; third parties had no ability to suggest changes or contributions of their own, and little ability to comment on the work that Microsoft was doing. Under the new development model, developers will be able to see the product as it’s being created, right down to the level of individual code changes, bug-fixes, and new features. Perhaps most significantly of all, for the first time Microsoft will be accepting patches and contributions from third parties to the product. If you have a fix for a bug or some code for a new feature, you could see it integrated into the mainline ASP.NET MVC tree. The first such update has already been accepted. This patch came from Miguel de Icaza, founder of Mono, the open source implementation of the .NET stack.

As the write up points out, Microsoft still decides what gets integrated and what does not.

On one hand, Microsoft may be realizing that in house teams cannot accomplish certain tasks. Instead of fighting those who are fed up with certain bugs and functions, Microsoft is just letting outsiders remediate the often buggy, bloated, and performance challenged code.

On the other hand, Microsoft may be wrapping itself in the free and open source software flag, getting the names of those who are able to fix up Microsoft’s offerings, and taking steps to make its systems more widely available to those who otherwise would ignore such fine products as SharePoint and Fast Search.

This is indeed an interesting development, but it is one that IBM has pursued for quite a while. Microsoft, like Google, often arrives late at some parties. Microsoft may be arriving with some weaponized open source just to liven up the hoe down. Will Fast Search be pushed into the open source community?

Basho is in the search business. We monitor the company’s Riak Search product. today we notice that the company has rolled out an “all new” Riak CS. The “CS” refers to cloud storage. We are generally suspicious of categorical affirmatives in general. In this particular announcement, Basho asserts “at any scale.” You can read the somewhat art history inspired announcement at this Basho link.

The company asserts:

Riak CS is a multi-tenant, distributed, S3-compatible cloud storage platform that enables enterprises and service providers to launch public or private cloud services. Built on top of Riak, the world’s most advanced distributed database, Riak CS provides horizontal scale, extreme durability and low operational overhead in a distributed object storage system.

This is a buzzword fiesta. We assume that one finds content within the categorical affirmative charged system using the company’s Riak Search system.

We are monitoring developments. Notice we did not insert “all” because that is a logical impossibility for an addled goose. Art history majors engaging in PR puffery are not as restrained perhaps?

Maintaining security standards and governance compliance in the enterprise is not always easy when trying to minimize risks and maximize access. Mike Fleck addresses the issue in, “SharePoint, Security, and Compliance.” Fleck explains:

“One thing I think that the SharePoint community can easily agree on is that adequately securing SharePoint implementations and meeting compliance obligations are good things. The many capabilities and advantages that SharePoint brings to the enterprise are well documented…Security and compliance are closely related topics. Compliance regulations dictate numerous security controls. Having a strong security posture makes meeting compliance requirements (and proving compliance to auditors) far easier.”

Fleck’s article is the first in a series on security and compliance as related to the collaboration platform. SharePoint architects and administrators may benefit from the read. Some guidance might help as you look to prioritize high level concerns and pertinent questions for increased SharePoint security and compliance.

While information creation and SharePoint adoption continue to grow, you may find the platform is not the complete out-of-the-box solution for enterprise security and compliance needs. If you need a bit of help with it you might check into Mindbreeze and their dynamic search technologies that bring together security, mobility, and information pairing.

“Fabasoft has received ISO 20000 certification for the IT services Folio Cloud and Folio SaaS. This furthers the Austrian company’s strategy of implementing international standards, with it already being ISO 9001 and 27001 certified. Fabasoft is one of just twelve companies in Austria with ISO 20000 certification.”

A recent article, “Design Control for Medical Devices“, as seen on Today’s Medical Developments (TMD) recently announced a webinar scheduled for March 28, 2012, at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Product lifecycle management (PLM) experts Roger Martin and Chuck McGinley, Sr., will discuss how medical device manufacturers can minimize the likelihood of product recalls and enhance their regulatory compliance through more effective design control and data management solutions.

“(l)earn how to implement effective and efficient product development procedures with PLM technology in order to ensure compliant design controls, address design control challenges, simplify the audit process, and reduce the cost of compliance through automated enterprise resource systems and best practices.”

With its recent emergence in such as industries as medical device manufacturing, PLM is demonstrating its widespread utility and appeal. Consequently, small and midsized businesses requiring data management guidance should embrace the solutions offered by such data-focused PLM providers as Inforbix. Although industries such as medical may have been just recently introduced to PLM solutions companies such as Inforbix have been supplying data management solutions to all industries for quite a while with an impressive and extensive wealth of knowledge to offer clients.

When you hear the term “dark” these days it usually refers to the surge in vampire romance fiction or Stars Wars variants. In the world of web design, however, dark means that web developers use dark web templates on their pages. It takes a good eye for color and contrast to make a dark web site work and Top SharePoint found “50 Beautiful Dark Web Sites Built on SharePoint.”

As the article’s author explains:

“Personally I am very fond of dark websites even though clean light web design is the main choice, especially in the corporate world. It is true that dark designs have a tendency to feel a bit heavy and harder to read if lot of text is presented but I feel they look more elegant and creative. Besides, using dark backgrounds you can make the content stand out and be the main focus.”

Perusing through the list the web sites that catch my eye are “The City of Calgary,” “Hard Rock Casino Tulsa,” “Club Paradiso,” and “NSU.” Pick your own favorites and discover new ideas for SharePoint web design. No matter what graphic colors you use for your SharePoint site, take into account that if you want visitors to find information you will need an excellent search enterprise.

If you want to use SharePoint for more than internal document sharing, you can turn to Search Technologies to assist you in leveraging SharePoint. In addition to dynamic content and rich media, a Search Technologies’ implementation can integrate your public facing Web site with your internal SharePoint system. You will be able to establish immediate and direct interactions with your prospects and customers without losing the SharePoint functionality you need to run your business in a cost effective manner. To learn more, visit www.searchtechnologies.com.

’E-discovery has been a very expensive, painful process in America over the last 15 years and some of that has started to happen in Australia. The same trends of over-collection, having to sort through duplicates, being at the mercy of outside service providers and their bills, and generally not owning the process,’ she said. Walton aims to accelerate that ‘painful process’ in Australia, by giving those who own information within law firms, power over it. ‘That’s the information governance message I want to get across,’ she told Lawyers Weekly.’

Information governance, she says, should take the form of end-to-end archiving across an “electronic discovery reference model” she supplied. See the article for an illustration of that model.

Hoping Aussies learn from the mistakes of US companies, Walton emphasizes that organizations need to let go of the old. Fearing the very real danger of being prosecuted for deleting data they should have kept, many firms just refuse to delete anything. This approach, however, can hamper a system so that retrieving relevant information quickly might be impossible. That’s not much help. Furthermore, it can mean that “tons of different pieces of sensitive information end up getting all mixed up together and probably don’t have the right security parameters around them.” Even less than unhelpful.

Walton informed her listeners that a number of US companies have been very heavily penalized for being unable to produce required records. She cautions that if businesses wish to have offices in the US, they must understand and follow US laws. They should lay the groundwork for efficient compliance from the beginning.

So, now we understand about the cost to lawyers of unkempt information systems, but what about to the clients? Oh, clients. Yep, they can be important. . . .

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining
and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky.
He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues
worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go
"beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site
with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.